Ottawa Board of Health
MINUTES 9
Monday, April 18,
2016, 5:00 PM
Champlain Room, 110 Laurier Avenue West
Contact for the Ottawa Board of Health:
Diane Blais, Board of Health Secretary
613-580-2424, ext. 21544
[email protected]
Board
Members:
Chair: S. Qadri
Vice-Chair: J. Poirier
Members: D. Chernushenko, M. Fleury, A. Kapur, L. Leikin, C. McKenney, S.
Pinel, M. Qaqish, M. Taylor, P. Tilley
The Ottawa Board of Health met in
the Champlain Room, 110 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, on Monday, April 18, 2016
beginning at 5:00 PM.
The Chair, Shad Qadri, presided
over the meeting.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS/CEREMONIAL ACTIVITIES
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The Board of
Health recognized community partners for their support of the “World Record
Pee Challenge”, the attempt to break the record for the most tests for
sexually-transmitted infections completed within 24 hours in Ottawa. Certificates
were presented to representatives from the University of Ottawa’s Health
Services, Carleton University's Health and Counselling Services, Algonquin
College Health Services, la Cité Collégiale’s Medical Clinic and Public
Health Ontario’s Regional Lab.
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ROLL CALL
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Members
Kapur and Leikin were absent from the meeting.
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REGRETS
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Members
Kapur and Leikin sent their regrets.
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CONFIRMATION OF
MINUTES
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Confirmation
of the Minutes of the meeting of February 8, 2016
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CONFIRMED
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Twenty-three communication
items have been received (held on file with
the Board of Health Secretary).
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MOTION TO INTRODUCE REPORTS
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Motion 09/01
Moved by Member
Taylor
BE IT
RESOLVED THAT the Chair of the Board of Health Verbal Report; the Medical
Officer of Health Verbal Report; the Ottawa Public Health’s 2015 Annual
Report; the Let’s Clear the Air 2.0: 2016 Action Plan; the Ottawa Board of
Health Public Health Funding and Accountability Agreement 2015 Year-End
Results report; the 2015 Operating Budget Year-End Results – Board of Health
for the City of Ottawa Health Unit Status Report; the 2016 Operating Budget
Q1 – Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit Status Report; the
Delegation of Authority – Contracts Awarded for the Period of July 1 to
December 31, 2015; and the Attendance at the Association
of Local Public Health Agencies’ (alPHa) 2016 Annual General Meeting and
Conference report be received and considered;
and
BE IT
FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Rules of Procedure be suspended to consider the
following additional items due to the timelines associated with same:
·
Motion regarding the appointment of a Board
Secretary to ensure continued administrative support and secretariat services
of the Board of Health; and
·
Report from the Medical Officer of Health
titled Appointment of an Associate Medical Officer of Health – In Camera –
Personal Matters about an Identifiable Individual. Reporting Out Date: Upon
Council Approval, due to timelines associated with this item
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CARRIED
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Motion 09/02
Moved by Member
Taylor
WHEREAS,
pursuant to Section 2 of the procedure by-law (being by-law no. 2011-1, as
amended), the Board is required to appoint a Secretary of the Board of
Health, with specific responsibilities under its Procedural By-law; and
WHEREAS Ms.
Gillian Connelly, Secretary of the Board of Health, has accepted a temporary
assignment with Ottawa Public Health’s Health Promotion and Disease
Prevention Branch effective April 1; and
WHEREAS Ms.
Diane Blais is available to fulfill the role of Board Secretary for the Board
of Health of the City of Ottawa health unit;
THEREFORE BE
IT RESOLVED THAT the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit
replace Ms. Gillian Connelly by appointing Ms. Diane Blais as the Secretary
of the Ottawa Board of Health and authorize Ms. Diane Blais to delegate any
of her powers, duties and/or functions as Ottawa Board of Health Secretary to
staff as necessary.
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CARRIED
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Following a
‘Consent Agenda’ process, the Board considered the held Items in the following
order: Items 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
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1.
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CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH VERBAL REPORT
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ACS2016-OPH-BOH-0002
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That the
Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit receive this report for
information.
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Chair Qadri
provided the Board with an update on recent events. The attached memo
includes the Chair of the Board of Health Verbal Update.
Following the
discussion, the report recommendation was put to the Board.
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RECEIVED
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2.
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MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH VERBAL REPORT
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ACS2016-OPH-MOH-0003
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That the
Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit receive this report for
information.
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Dr. Isra Levy,
Medical Officer of Health, provided the Board with an update on recent events
and took questions from Board Members. This discussion lasted approximately 50
minutes. The attached memo includes the Medical Officer of Health Verbal
Update.
Following the
discussion, the report recommendation was put to the Board.
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RECEIVED, with the following motions
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Motion 09/03
Moved by Member
Fleury
WHEREAS on March
14, 2016, the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre announced its intention to
consult the public about adding a supervised injection site (SIS) to its
building at Rideau and Nelson streets; and
WHEREAS local
consultations into the proposed Sandy Hill Community Health Centre site are
ongoing throughout the month of April 2016; and
WHEREAS on
April 7, 2016, Ottawa’s Medical Officer of Health issued a public statement
on this topic in which he:
·
Acknowledged the evolving conversation in
the community;
·
Talked about the four pillars that form
Ottawa Public Health’s approach to serving the needs of people living with
additions, being prevention, harm reduction, treatment and enforcement;
·
Referenced some of the programs and
services already in place within our community in support of the
above-referenced four-pillar approach; and
·
Expressed a desire to be part of the
conversation on with respect to supervised consumption services in Ottawa in
order to ensure that any SIS in Ottawa will use the right model for those
accessing the services; and
WHERAS, as a
result of the conversations taking place within the community with respect to
SIS’s, questions have arisen about the various treatment options available in
Ottawa for those affected by drug addictions; and
WHEREAS
Ottawa Public Health’s role is more focused on prevention and harm reduction,
therefore the department does not currently have comprehensive and up-to-date
information with respect to the various treatment programs, intake/referral
processes and outcomes;
THEREFORE BE
IT RESOLVED that the Medical Officer of Health report back to the Board of
Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit at its meeting of June 20, 2016
with a comprehensive overview of:
·
The statistical data associated with drug
misuse in Ottawa (number of injection drug users, including demographics for
same; number of drug overdoses in Ottawa; number of deaths due to drug
overdoses in Ottawa; rate of infection of blood-borne diseases due to sharing
drug equipment, etc.); and
·
Detailed information with respect to
prevention, harm reduction and treatment programs available, including
current wait times and the number of beds available in Ottawa.
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CARRIED
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Member McKenney
then introduced the following motion.
WHEREAS on
March 14, 2016, the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre announced its
intention to consult the public about adding a supervised injection site
(SIS) to its building at Rideau and Nelson streets; and
WHEREAS
local consultations into the proposed Sandy Hill Community Health Centre site
are ongoing throughout the month of April 2016; and
WHEREAS the
Sandy Hill Community Health Centre consultations appear to be focused on one
specific site and service model;
THEREFORE BE
IT RESOLVED that the Medical Officer of Health report back to the Board of
Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit at its meeting of June 20, 2016
with:
·
Information about the various SIS models in
existence in other jurisdictions, including success rates; and
·
A comprehensive public consultation plan to
engage the broader community with respect to SIS models and potential
locations.
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Member Qaqish
proposed an amendment to include information on costs, which Member McKenney
accepted as friendly.
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MOTION 09/04
Moved by Member
McKenney
WHEREAS on March 14, 2016, the Sandy
Hill Community Health Centre announced its intention to consult the public
about adding a supervised injection site (SIS) to its building at Rideau and
Nelson streets; and
WHEREAS local consultations into the
proposed Sandy Hill Community Health Centre site are ongoing throughout the
month of April 2016; and
WHEREAS the Sandy Hill Community
Health Centre consultations appear to be focused on one specific site and
service model;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the
Medical Officer of Health report back to the Board of Health for the City of
Ottawa Health Unit at its meeting of June 20, 2016 with:
·
Information about the various SIS models in
existence in other jurisdictions, including estimated implementation costs
and success rates; and
·
A comprehensive public consultation plan to
engage the broader community with respect to SIS models and potential
locations.
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CARRIED
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3.
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OTTAWA PUBLIC HEALTH’S 2015 ANNUAL REPORT
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ACS2016-OPH-SSB-0004
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That the
Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit:
1. Receive Ottawa Public Health’s 2015 Annual Report; and
2. Approve that it be forwarded to Ottawa City Council for
information, in accordance with the City of Ottawa Act, 1999.
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Ms. Esther
Moghadam, Deputy Director and Chief Nursing Officer, Health Promotion and
System Support Branch, introduced Ottawa Public Health’s 2015 Annual Report
video. This video lasted approximately 9 minutes.
Following the
discussion, the report recommendations were put to the Board.
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CARRIED
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4.
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LET'S CLEAR THE AIR 2.0: 2016 ACTION PLAN
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ACS2016-OPH-HPDP-0003
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That
the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit:
1. Approve Ottawa Public Health’s Let’s Clear the Air 2.0: 2016
Action Plan, as detailed in this report;
2. Approve that the Chair of the Board of Health write a letter to
the Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care recommending that:
a. The regulatory changes proposed in Ontario’s March 10, 2016
Consultation Paper titled “Strengthening Ontario’s Smoking and Vaping Laws”
be put in force, as outlined in this report; and
b. The Smoke-Free Ontario Act be further amended to include
the smoking of all combustible products such that all non-tobacco substances,
including shisha (water-pipe) product, be prohibited in public places and
workplaces; and
c. The Electronic Cigarettes Act be further strengthened by
prohibiting the sale of flavoured e-cigarettes and e-liquid and by
restricting promotional activities advertising e-cigarettes and tobacco
products, as outlined in this report.
3. Approve that the Chair of the Board of Health write a letter to
the federal Minister of Health recommending that:
a. The proposed recommendations in the House of Commons’ Standing
Committee on Health’s report “Vaping: Towards a Regulatory Framework for
E-Cigarettes” be implemented, as outlined in this report; and
b. The Tobacco Act be amended to explicitly mention shisha
(water-pipe) tobacco product such that regulations around health warnings,
labelling, packaging and flavours applies to shisha (water-pipe) tobacco
product and apply these regulations to herbal shisha (water-pipe) product as
well.
4. Direct Ottawa Public Health staff to continue to monitor the
progress of Bill 178, Smoke-Free Ontario Amendment Act, 2016,
including any proposed regulations that prohibit the smoking of non-tobacco
substances and products and, should legislative changes not be enacted or in
the event that these do not address all the concerns raised by the Board of
Health and Ottawa City Council, that staff report back by Q1 2017, on options
for enacting a municipal by-law to address this gap in smoke-free
regulations.
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Ms. Gillian
Connelly, Manager, Health Promotion Disease Prevention, Ms. Debbie McCulloch,
Program Development Officer, Health Promotion Disease Prevention, and Mr. Omar
Ansari, Associate Legal Counsel, spoke to a PowerPoint presentation, which
served to provide the Board with some context on this report. A copy of the
presentation is held on file with the Board of Health Secretary.
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At 6:22 p.m.,
Member Taylor moved a motion to extend the meeting.
MOTION 09/05
Moved by Member
Taylor
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CARRIED
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The following delegations
addressed the Board on the Let’s Clear the Air 2.0: 2016 Action Plan report. Those
persons whose names are marked with an asterisk (*) provided written
statements, copies of which are held on file with the Board of Health
Secretary.
·
Dr. Shawn Aaron, Division Director-
Respirology, Director, The Canadian Respiratory Research Network Professor,
University of Ottawa (supports recommendations 2a, b and c)
·
Mr. Rob Cunningham, Senior Policy Analyst,
Canadian Cancer Society, submitted that the City of Ottawa should do more.
·
Dr. Roberta Ferrence*, Senior Scientific Advisor, Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, University
of Toronto, and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, (agreed with
report recommendations)
·
Mr. Larry Graham, Patient, Lung Association
(agreed with report recommendations)
·
Ms. Lesley James, Heart and Stroke Foundation
(agreed with report recommendations)
·
Dr. Smita Pakhale, Ottawa Hospital and Ottawa
Hospital Research Institute (agreed with report recommendations)
·
Ms. Pippa Beck, Smoking and Health Action
Foundation (opposed to report recommendations)
·
Dr. Andrew Pipe, University of Ottawa Heart
Institute (agreed with report recommendations)
·
Ms. Carol McDonald*, Ottawa Council on Smoking
or Health (agreed with report recommendations)
·
Mr. William Hopkins, Resident of Ottawa
(agreed with report recommendations)
·
Ms. Carmela Graziani, Resident of Ottawa (agreed
with report recommendations)
·
Mr. Neil E. Collishaw, Physicians for a
Smoke-Free Canada (opposed to report recommendations)
The following
individuals provided written submissions but did not address the Board.
Copies of their submissions are held on file with the Board Secretary:
·
Ms. Cheryl Parrott, Co-Chair Security
Committee, Hintonburg Community Association
·
Ms. Melanie Estable-Porter, Lung Association
·
Ms. Ellen Holmes
After hearing
from the delegations, Ottawa Public Health staff took questions from Board
members. This discussion lasted approximately 97 minutes. Following the discussion,
the report recommendations were put to the Board.
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Motion 09/06
Moved by Member
Taylor
WHEREAS part
of the rationale associated with Recommendation 2c was inadvertently omitted
during a final editing of the report prior to publication;
THEREFORE BE
IT RESOLVED that the following paragraphs be added to the “Discussion”
section of the report, at the end of the portion dealing with Recommendation
2c, in order to clarify Ottawa Public Health’s intent with respect to same:
“Proposal #6 from the
Province relates to an amendment to the regulations under the ECA with
respect to establishing rules for the display and promotion of e-cigarettes
in places where they are sold. Although Ottawa Public Health supports
this proposal, staff is recommending that action be taken “to restrict
promotional activities advertising e-cigarettes and tobacco products”.
Specifically, this recommendation refers to the number of allowable signs a
retailer can post. For instance, under the SFOA a retailer can
post up to a maximum of 3 signs that refer to tobacco products.
Similarly, the Province is proposing a retailer be permitted to post
up to a maximum of three signs that refer to e‑cigarette
products. Therefore, under existing and proposed regulations, retailers
that are selling both tobacco and e-cigarettes can post a maximum of 6 signs
to inform customers in their stores.
Ottawa Public Health is
recommending that signage be further restricted in retail locations where
both cigarettes and e-cigarettes are for sale such that a maximum of 3 signs
will be permitted for both categories of products rather than for each
category. Ottawa Public Health also recommends that the signs not be visible
from outside the retail establishment in addition to the three requirements
outlined in the regulatory proposal which are that the signs must use black
text against a white background, not exceed 968 square centimetres, and not
provide any information about a brand of e-cigarette.”
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CARRIED
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Motion 09/07
Moved by Member
Fleury
Amend the
report to direct staff to request clarity from the Province on the details of
the intentions with respect to the proposed regulatory amendments ahead of the
next board meeting on June 20th and, if communications are not
received on time or do not address hookah or shisha, that as part of the June
report, we begin the by-law review unless clear written indications are
provided by the Province on that matter.
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CARRIED
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The report
recommendations, as amended by Motions 09/06 and 09/07 and set out in full
below for ease of reference, were then put to the Board and adopted.
That the
Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit:
1. Approve Ottawa Public Health’s Let’s Clear the Air 2.0: 2016
Action Plan, as detailed in this report;
2. Approve that the Chair of the Board of Health write a letter to
the Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care recommending that:
a.
The regulatory changes proposed in
Ontario’s March 10, 2016 Consultation Paper titled “Strengthening Ontario’s
Smoking and Vaping Laws” be put in force, as outlined in this report; and
b.
The Smoke-Free Ontario Act be
further amended to include the smoking of all combustible products such that
all non-tobacco substances, including shisha (water-pipe) product, be
prohibited in public places and workplaces; and
c.
The Electronic Cigarettes Act be
further strengthened by prohibiting the sale of flavoured e-cigarettes and
e-liquid and by restricting promotional activities advertising e-cigarettes
and tobacco products, as outlined in this report,
and that the following paragraphs be added to the “Discussion” section of the
report, at the end of the portion dealing with Recommendation 2c, in order to
clarify Ottawa Public Health’s intent with respect to same:
“Proposal #6 from the Province relates to an amendment to the regulations
under the ECA with respect to establishing rules for the display and
promotion of e-cigarettes in places where they are sold. Although
Ottawa Public Health supports this proposal, staff is recommending that
action be taken “to restrict promotional activities advertising e-cigarettes
and tobacco products”. Specifically, this recommendation refers to the number
of allowable signs a retailer can post. For instance, under the SFOA
a retailer can post up to a maximum of 3 signs that refer to tobacco
products. Similarly, the Province is proposing a retailer be
permitted to post up to a maximum of three signs that refer to e‑cigarette
products. Therefore, under existing and proposed regulations, retailers
that are selling both tobacco and e-cigarettes can post a maximum of 6 signs
to inform customers in their stores.
Ottawa Public Health is recommending that signage be further restricted in
retail locations where both cigarettes and e-cigarettes are for sale such
that a maximum of 3 signs will be permitted for both categories of products
rather than for each category. Ottawa Public Health also recommends that the
signs not be visible from outside the retail establishment in addition to the
three requirements outlined in the regulatory proposal which are that the
signs must use black text against a white background, not exceed 968 square
centimetres, and not provide any information about a brand of e-cigarette.”
3. Approve that the Chair of the Board of Health write a letter to
the federal Minister of Health recommending that:
a.
The proposed recommendations in the
House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Health’s report “Vaping: Towards a
Regulatory Framework for E-Cigarettes” be implemented, as outlined in this
report; and
b.
The Tobacco Act be amended to
explicitly mention shisha (water-pipe) tobacco product such that regulations
around health warnings, labelling, packaging and flavours applies to shisha
(water-pipe) tobacco product and apply these regulations to herbal shisha
(water-pipe) product as well.
4. Direct
Ottawa Public Health staff to:
a. Request
clarification from the Province, ahead of the Board of Health’s June meeting,
on the intentions of the amendments;
b. Continue
to monitor the progress of Bill 178, Smoke-Free Ontario Amendment Act,
2016, including any proposed regulations that prohibit the smoking of
non-tobacco substances and products; and
c. Should
legislative changes not be enacted or in the event that these do not address
all the concerns raised by the Board of Health and Ottawa City Council, that
staff report back in June 2016, on options for enacting a municipal
by-law to address this gap in smoke-free
regulations to address hookah and shisha unless clear
indications are provided by the Province on that matter.
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CARRIED, as amended
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5.
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OTTAWA BOARD OF HEALTH PUBLIC HEALTH FUNDING
AND ACCOUNTABILITY AGREEMENT 2015 YEAR-END RESULTS
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ACS2016-OPH-IQS-0001
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That the
Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit:
1. Receive for information 2015 year-end results, as outlined in
Document 1;
2. Approve 2015 Performance Reports for the following Indicators:
a. % of Class A pools inspected while in operation, as outlined in
Document 2;
b. % of confirmed Invasive Group A Streptococcal Disease (iGAS) cases
where initiation of follow-up occurred on the same day as receipt of lab
confirmation of a positive case, as outlined in Document 3;
c. % of influenza vaccine wasted that is stored/ administered by the
public health unit, as outlined in Document 4;
d. % of HPV vaccine wasted that is stored/ administered by the PHU,
as outlined in Document 5; and
e. % of personal services settings inspected annually, as outlined in
Document 6.
3. Receive for information 2016 indicators, as outlined in Document
1: and
4. Direct Ottawa Public Health staff to submit this report and
supporting documents to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
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Ms. Esther
Moghadam, Deputy Director and Chief Nursing Officer, Health Promotion and
System Support Branch, spoke to a PowerPoint presentation, which served to
provide the Board with an overview of the report. A copy of the presentation
is held on file with the Board of Health Secretary.
Following the
discussion, the report recommendations were put to the Board.
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CARRIED
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IN CAMERA ITEMS*
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Motion 09/08
Moved by Member
Taylor
BE IT
RESOLVED THAT the Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit resolve
In Camera pursuant to Section 13(1)(b) of the Procedure By-law 2011-1;
personal matters about an identifiable individual, including staff, to
consider a report from the Medical Officer of Health titled Appointment of
an Associate Medical Officer of Health – In Camera – Personal Matters About
an Identifiable Individual - Reporting Out Date: Upon Council Approval.
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The Board of
Health moved In Camera at 8:00 p.m.
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CARRIED
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10.
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APPOINTMENT OF AN ASSOCIATE MEDICAL OFFICER
OF HEALTH – IN CAMERA – PERSONAL MATTERS ABOUT AN IDENTIFIABLE INDIVIDUAL.
REPORTING OUT DATE: UPON COUNCIL APPROVAL
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ACS2016-OPH-MOH-0004
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Issued separately
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REFERRED
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The Board of
Health resumed in open session at 8:22 p.m.
Upon resuming
in open session, the Chair indicated the Board had met In Camera to consider
a report from the Medical Officer of Health titled Appointment of an
Associate Medical Officer of Health – In Camera – Personal Matters About an
Identifiable Individual - Reporting Out Date: Upon Council Approval. He
stated that no motions were carried during the In Camera session other
than procedural motions.
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*NOTICE
In Camera Items are not subject to public discussion or audience. Any
person has a right to request an independent investigation of the propriety
of dealing with matters in a closed session. A form requesting such a review
may be obtained, without charge, from the City’s website or in person from
the Chair of this meeting. Requests are kept confidential pending any report
by the Meetings Investigator and are conducted without charge to the
Requestor.
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MOTION TO ADOPT REPORTS
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Motion 09/09
Moved by Member
Taylor
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Chair of
the Board of Health Verbal Report; the Medical Officer of Health Verbal
Report; the Ottawa Public Health’s 2015 Annual Report; the Let’s Clear the
Air 2.0: 2016 Action Plan; the Ottawa Board of Health Public Health Funding and
Accountability Agreement 2015 Year-End Results report; the 2015 Operating
Budget Year-End Results – Board of Health for the City of Ottawa Health Unit
Status Report; the 2016 Operating Budget Q1 – Board of Health for the City of
Ottawa Health Unit Status Report; the Delegation of Authority – Contracts
Awarded for the Period of July 1 to December 31, 2015; the Attendance at the
Association of Local Public Health Agencies’ (alPHa) 2016 Annual General
Meeting and Conference; and the Appointment of an Associate Medical Officer
of Health- In Camera report be received and adopted as amended.
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CARRIED
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CONFIRMATION BY-LAW
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Motion 09/10
Moved by Member
Taylor
BE IT RESOLVED
THAT Confirmation By-law no. 2016-2, a by-law of the Board of Health for the
City of Ottawa Health Unit to confirm the proceedings of the Ottawa Board of
Health at its meeting of April 18, 2016, be read and passed.
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CARRIED
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ADJOURNMENT
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The Board
adjourned the meeting at 8:24 p.m.
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NEXT MEETING
Regular Meeting
Monday, June 20, 2016 – 5:00 PM –
Champlain Room
_____________________________ _____________________________
BOARD SECRETARY BOARD CHAIR
DATE: April 18, 2016
18 avril 2016
FILE NUMBER: ACS2015-OPH-BOH-0004
SUBJECT: CHAIR OF THE
BOARD OF HEALTH VERBAL REPORT
OBJET : RAPPORT VERBAL DU PRÉSIDENT DU CONSEIL
DE SANTÉ
Check upon delivery
Good evening everyone,
Thank you for joining us at our second
Board of Health meeting of 2016. As OPH launches into spring, I have a few updates
and acknowledgements that I would like to share with you.
Anniversary
Before I begin, I would like to note that
this meeting also marks the fifth anniversary of the independent Ottawa Board
of Health. Having held its inaugural meeting in April 2011, the Board of Health
is responsible for upholding public health standards in Ottawa. With a variety
of perspectives, each and every Board member brings a different contribution to
the table and I appreciate your work. As we mark this anniversary, I would like
to thank all those who contributed to the establishment of the Board and the
current members for their leadership and stewardship as we aim to make Ottawa a
City where people are healthy, safe and actively
engaged in their well-being.
Staffing News
Of course, the work of the Board would not
be possible without support from our staff – specifically, from our Board of
Health Secretary. On that note, Ms. Diane Blais has accepted to join the Ottawa Public Health
(OPH) team and provide support as Board of Health Secretary as Ms. Gillian Connelly
has accepted a new position at OPH as Manager of Health Promotion and Disease
Prevention.
I would like to extend a big thank you to
Gillian for her dedication, hard work and perseverance seeing us through some
challenging issues. On behalf of all of our Board members, I wish her success
in her new position. Also, on behalf of the entire Board, I would like to
welcome Diane Blais as the new secretary of the Board. Diane has over 20 years of experience in municipal governance
and legislative services. She has served as a City of Ottawa Standing Committee
Coordinator and most recently as Coordinator of Policy and Projects. I
know this experience from the City Clerk and
Solicitor Department and her knowledge of municipal government will be an asset
to OPH and the Board.
Parenting in Ottawa anniversary
Finally, I would like to draw attention to
another important anniversary – the one-year anniversary of Ottawa Public
Health’s Parenting in Ottawa/Être Parent à Ottawa website.
Last March, Parenting in Ottawa was
launched as a means to make parenting in Ottawa a little bit easier. This new
web site and Facebook page were created by Ottawa Public Health and its
community partners to provide parents with information from and access to local
health experts. Parents with questions ranging from pregnancy to mental health
have been connecting online where discussions are moderated by a registered
nurse.
In the past year, the website has had over
61,000 users and 155,000 page views. The website has raised awareness
about initiatives such as immunization reporting and mental health promotion.
The team’s mission in launching parenting
in Ottawa was to share information, respond to questions and create a place for
parents to get together to chat about raising kids in our community. In light
of the community’s response to the launch, I think the team has more than
succeeded.
Congratulations on the one year anniversary
of Parenting in Ottawa and I hope parents will continue to use the web site and
Facebook page.
That concludes my comments this evening. I
would be happy to take any questions from Board members.
DATE: April 18, 2016
18 avril 2016
FILE NUMBER: ACS2016-OPH-MOH-0003
SUBJECT:
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH VERBAL REPORT
OBJET : RAPPORT VERBAL DU
MÉDECIN CHEF EN SANTÉ PUBLIQUE
Check upon delivery
Bonsoir, good evening,
I want to echo Chair Qadri’s remarks, and
thank Gillian Connelly for her work as Board Secretary. And I want to also
welcome Diane Blais to this role. In just a short time at OPH Diane’s
contributions have already been deeply felt, and we look forward to our work
together going forward.
As usual, it’s been a busy time at OPH
since we last met. Tonight I will touch just briefly on provincial matters; our
upcoming Accreditation Canada survey visit; and some local issues including the
emerging community conversation around addictions, and more specifically harm
reduction and supervised injection services for people living with addictions.
Provincial Update
First, a comment about Ontario’s new Making
Healthier Choices Act. Schedule 1 of the Act – the Healthy Menu Choices
Act, 2015 and its accompanying Regulation - will come into force on January
1, 2017. Food service premises with 20 or more locations in Ontario will have
to post calories on their menus. As you know, I welcome this development, as it
will help Ottawa residents make more informed food choices when eating at one
of these facilities, and it complements the work we are doing locally regarding
healthy nutrition and active living.
Our public health inspectors will have a
role in enforcing this act locally, and the Ministry has begun to outline the
approach it will ask us to take. It will include OPH conducting about 500
education visits by the end of the year, and we will also need to be ready to
respond to complaints regarding the posting of calories and signs in regulated
premises.
We expect that the ministry will lead a
public awareness campaign about the legislation. Still, as you know, especially
because of the number of special events we see in Ottawa, even now it’s a
challenge to meet all existing inspection targets set out in the provincial
accountability agreement. I anticipate that the Ministry will be providing an
opportunity to enhance our inspection capacity so that we can do this new work,
and we will be looking for opportunities to ensure that resources, tools and
processes are in place for OPH to allow for effective implementation.
On a related point, we continue to
participate in government consultations regarding the Child Care and Early
Years Act (CCEYA). This month we submitted a letter to the Ministry
of Education suggesting the strengthening of the regulations in that act which
relate to healthy eating and physical activity, too.
On the tobacco control file, last month the
government proposed welcome changes to the regulations of the Smoke-Free
Ontario Act (SFOA) and Electronic Cigarette Act (ECA), and we will
be discussing those developments later this evening.
Lastly on the
provincial front, there has been no further word regarding the Ministry’s
Patients First proposal since the consultation period ended at the end of
February. The potential that legislation will be tabled imminently, however, is
quite real I think.
Accreditation Canada Survey Visit
Shifting gears, we are also looking forward
now to our upcoming Accreditation Canada visit. In June 2014 we received an
Accreditation Primer Award from Accreditation Canada. Accreditation is
important because it provides external peer review scrutiny and validation of
the quality of our work.
In June we are scheduled to be visited
again by accreditation surveyors. The surveyors will evaluate OPH processes and
practices against Accreditation Canada’s standards of excellence. Their results
will guide us in identifying further opportunities to improve quality and
client safety.
Supervised Injection Services (SIS)
The never completed task of continually
improving quality and safety of services is actually a good segue to the
emerging discussion around supervised injection services in Ottawa.
Recently, one of OPH’s community health
centre partner agencies launched local public consultations on their idea of
adding supervised injection services to their offerings for people living with
drug addiction.
Today, OPH, along with many community
partners, offers a wide array of services to people who struggle with various
addictions including injection drug use. Our approach to serving the needs of
people at risk for or living with addictions is based on four interrelated
pillars: prevention; harm reduction; treatment and enforcement. All four
pillars are integrated in our approach, which is underpinned by community
engagement and by efforts to promote community mental wellness. Unfortunately,
this has been a polarizing issue for many in our community; however, from my
perspective as a public health physician, supervised injection services are
simply a logical extension which must be considered as part of any
comprehensive approach, along with other tested and established harm reduction
initiatives. These services have been known to save lives and offer other
positive impacts for affected individuals, their loved ones, and the community
at large.
Recently, I shared with you my views about
this next step in addressing substance misuse in our community. In my
statement, I welcomed the opportunity to discuss making a difference by
expanding services available to address substance misuse. What we and our
partners, and other health agencies have been doing to prevent addictions and
to minimize their harms has not been enough. Clinicians are frustrated, and
need to be empowered to use modern, nuanced and sophisticated approaches to the
multidimensional and complex challenges that they and their patients, and their
patients’ loved ones, deal with. Borrowing the Ministry’s term for system
transformation, I suggest that if ever there was a worthy example of the need
to put Patients First, health first, in a public discussion, this is the issue.
And this is the time.
Ottawa is a caring community. Those
supporting the expansion of harm reduction services are seeking to serve our
community’s most vulnerable. We must explore what data, clinical science and
best-practice tells us in order to help those in need.
Syrian Refugees in Ottawa
I want to end with a brief word about
activities to support Syrian refugees in Ottawa. Since I last updated you in
February, the total number of refugees vaccinated has reached over 900 and over
600 dental assessments have been conducted. What I particularly want to
acknowledge is that this work would not have been possible without the support
of partner agencies and the help of volunteers.
In particular, Ottawa’s local dental
community has helped by volunteering their time and skills to work in our
dental clinic alongside our own dentists. More than 20 volunteer
dentists, and many more volunteer support staff and Arabic translators, mobilized
to enable us to be running dental clinics for refugees on a weekly basis at the
moment.
I want to publicly acknowledge and thank
all of the volunteer dentists, hygienists and translators who have joined in
this effort.
Chair, that concludes my report.